Network Management

The goals of this section are to introduce you to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) functional areas of network management and to briefly explore such tools as CiscoWorks and WANDL (Netsys Baseliner).

ISO Functional Areas of Network Management

The ISO has five key functional areas of network management, as follows:

• Fault management is very applicable to troubleshooting. A fault is defined as any abnormal event. The fault may be indicated by component failures that generate lots of errors. Report faults as they occur. Where did it occur? Can you isolate the problem and minimize the impact on others? Is the fault an abnormal event; is there an excessive number of errors? Should you repair or replace? Must you upgrade hardware, upgrade software (IOS), or configure for performance to fix the problem?

• Accounting management measures user, group, or device utilization and regulates resources and quotas appropriately.

• Configuration and name management help you account for such items as configuration files, changes in response to performance evaluations, product and IOS upgrades, and fault recovery.

• Performance management is about measuring and making sure acceptable levels of throughput, response time, and utilization are maintained.

• Security management relates to controlling access according to security standards and policies as to not be sabotaged. It also assists in making sensitive information accessible only to authorized parties.

Network management can be proactive or reactive. As a support person, you must determine a good balance of monitoring devices as to not interfere with the main function of the device. For example, the main purpose of a router is to route packets. Too much monitoring and polling takes precious resources that may not be available. On the other hand, network management programs such as CiscoWorks, Cisco Info Center (CIC), and HP OpenView can simplify configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting.

CiscoWorks

CiscoWorks, the Cisco network management system (NMS), delivers device monitoring and management products as well as configuration and fault management tools. Products such as HP OpenView and Spectrum are competitor products.

CiscoWorks includes several web-based solutions targeted at configuring, monitoring, and troubleshooting LAN and WAN environments. Go to a search engine such as Google and search for “ciscoworks,” which should bring you to Cisco.com to help you understand, monitor, and react to problems.

The LAN Management Solution (LMS) includes the nGenius Real Time Monitor, Campus Manager, Device Fault Manager, Content Flow Monitor, CiscoView, and Resource Manager Essentials. LMS is part of the CiscoWorks family of products for fault and configuration management and troubleshooting of campus LANs and is a follow-on to the CiscoWorks for Switched Internetworks (CWSI) bundle.

nGenius Real Time Monitor is web-enabled and delivers Remote Monitoring (RMON) information from RMON-enabled Catalyst switches, internal modules, and external probes. nGenius includes traffic director and packet analyzer applications. Use it to collect RMON statistics, analyze traffic patterns, and report long-term trend analysis. You can set thresholds on ports for errors, broadcasts, collisions, and so forth; monitor proactive alarms before they affect users. What a way to keep tabs on broadcast traffic! A good rule of thumb is that broadcast traffic should not be more than 20 percent of the total traffic per segment. Use nGenius Packet Analyzer to troubleshoot protocol-related issues. The product runs on Microsoft, SunOS, Solaris, HP/UX, and IBM-AIX.

Campus Manager includes Layer 2 tools for configuring, managing, and understanding the infrastructure. Export the maps to Visio, VLAN, LAN Emulation (LANE), and ATM services and assign switch ports. Autodiscovery and topology mapping enable you to get link and device status based on SNMP polling. Diagnostic tools allow automatic location and correlation for user information based on MAC, IP, login name, and physical location. Configure, monitor, and manage VLANs the drag-and-drop way and compile statistics with the VLAN Director. Figure 2-8 shows a list of VLANs.

Device Fault Manager (DFM) gives you real-time, problem-focused fault analysis. Intelligent traps are sent to e-mail/pager gateways or displayed in the alarm window.

Content Flow Monitor offers load balancing and performance monitoring.

CiscoView is a GUI for monitoring all Cisco devices, including on-demand access to CCO for new and updated device support (see Figure 2-9). It includes graphical device management, including front and back panel displays; performance management through utilization statistics, frames transmitted and received, errors, and so on; and you can change configurations (for example, routes, VLANs, and duplex settings).

Resource Manager Essentials (RME) streamlines inventory, device configuration, and software updates. It is comprised of applications such as: Inventory Manager, Change Audit, Device Configuration Manager, Software Image Manager, Availability Manager, Syslog Analyzer, and Cisco Management Connection. RME is bundled with CiscoWorks and is also available as a standalone product.

RME integrates with products such as HP OpenView, CIC, IBM NetView, and SunNet Manager to solve fault, configuration, and performance management issues. It even gives you a picture of the device, which is wonderful for basic connectivity status (see Figure 2-10).

The Software Image Manager goes out to Cisco's website to analyze and run a cron job for when you want to schedule the upgrade. It gives the best match, which obviously speeds up software deployment. This tool provides change control for software and configurations. It actually accounts for that tech who said they did nothing.

The Routed WAN Management Solution includes nGenius Real Time Monitor, Access Control List Manager, Internetwork Performance Monitor (IPM), CiscoView, and RME. IPM empowers network engineers to proactively troubleshoot response time and availability issues. IPM's server component runs on Sun Solaris and Windows NT/2000.

The Service Management Solution includes Service Level Manager and CiscoView. You can define and monitor service level agreements (SLAs), specifying traffic types and thresholds between enterprise networks or internal or external endpoints. Software agents provide job management and collection.

CiscoWorks QoS Policy Manager (QPM) includes performance protection for voice, video, and data applications through policies and design guide recommendations.

The VPN/Security Management Solution includes a VPN Monitor, RME, CiscoView, and Cisco Secure Policy Manager Lite. This solution is for customers who require remote access and site-to-site VPNs based on IPSec, Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP), and Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) or deployment and management of perimeter security using the Cisco PIX firewall.

CiscoWorks has other advanced applications. The Default Fault Manager (DFM) is part of the LAN solution or an add-on for problem-focused fault analysis. Intelligent traps are sent to e-mail/pager gateways or displayed in the alarm window. The User Registration Tool allows for dynamic assignment of VLANs based on user login. CiscoWorks Voice Manager (CVM) is a voice management and reporting solution. It provides advanced capabilities to configure and provision voice ports and create and modify dial plans for Voice over IP, Frame Relay, and ATM. The ACL Manager is an add-on to RME, but a component of the Routed WAN Management bundle. It offers a web interface to manage access lists. Search for “ciscoworks” at Cisco.com to explore the other applications and the up-to-date bundles.

Netsys Baseliner (Now WANDL)

Cisco acquired Netsys and announced an end-of-life plan in November 2000. Cisco is now partnering with WANDL for the following Netsys platforms: Sun Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, and Windows with the server-side Cisco Netsys-Agent (N-Agent). This opens the product up to other NMSs and operating systems via application programming interfaces (APIs). Search for “wandl” at Cisco.com for more details or go directly to www.wandl.com.

Netsys Baseliner (now WANDL) is a simulation and modeling tool that takes the what-you-see-before-you-get-it (WYSBYGI) approach. It is a what-if tool to test changes and performance issues before you commit to any design changes. It is great for initial network design, analysis for reconfiguration or redesign, and stress-testing situations. The output measures throughput, response times, utilization, packet loss, and so on. Even though Netsys is another company's product now, it is still a great product (and is still covered on the exam).

Many times after using IOS commands, CCO, and NMSs, you still need more tools. The following section covers some hardware tools and media testers that may be of help.